I have the same question I am also looking at a brass frame Remington and the spiller and burr revolver myself and I have been wondering that the brass frame myself. I have read review on dixie gun works they give them pretty review

I have a 12" pietta Remington with the brass frame (Cabellas sells them) and
have no "stretch" in the frame. I know this because I used a feeler guage between the cylinder and forcing cone when brand new(.004) and check it every season. I usually use 27 gr. of Pyrodex with a wonder wad and .454 ball. I have used 777 also with no ill effects.
Stew

Hey John, If I read his post correctly, he has shot it 777 times. I'm going to get a Remington 1858 with brass frame. I don't think I'll shoot it enough to hurt it and I really like the way they look. Also, Darryl Choy in his report, "Percussion Revolvers: A Primer" says, "Shooting a brass frame with mild loads should not be a problem" His recommendations for a .44 load is "20 to 30 grains of 3F and a .451 round ball" Ken

I have proabably 500 rounds though it. The 777 I referred to is Hodgsons powder which is more powerful than Pyrodex or BP. Using BP or pyrodex and keeping it under 30 gr. should not overstress the frame IMHO.
Stew

sorry to disagree but 777 is not smokeless at all,what it is,is it has no sulfur to corrode the steel and it is by voluum 15% hotter than black powder or pyrodex.it is however a little harder to ignite so use hotter caps. old semperfi

The key to having and shooting a brass frame revolver is to use light loads of powder. Most of these guns say you can shoot a max of 30 grains of 3f of pyrodex p if you will stay on the light side of of the specs say about 22 to 25 grains of powder you should not really have any problems. It is my understanding that shooting a high load of powder over and over again will eventually stretch the frame, brass just isnt as strong as steel.

The key to having and shooting a brass frame revolver is to use light loads of powder. Most of these guns say you can shoot a max of 30 grains of 3f of pyrodex p if you will stay on the light side of of the specs say about 22 to 25 grains of powder you should not really have any problems. It is my understanding that shooting a high load of powder over and over again will eventually stretch the frame, brass just isnt as strong as steel.

Good luck and have fun!

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Good advice.

You don't need to shoot maximum loads for recreational purposes - 25 gr is nothing to sneeze at; muzzle velocity should be in the neighborhood of 750-800 fps.

Remember that the rimfire Henry cartridge and thus the first Winchester 66 ones then also were actually .44-25s...the quote from ofitq above that 25 grains is nothing to sneeze at is a good one. Granted there was no gas loss with the cartridges but it would be close.

Heck, I shoot 25 grains in my steel frame Traditions 1860 and it works goo enough.

I'm not sure when i shoot conicals I could get much more in there!

Heck the standard load for a Walker (or was it a Dragoon I forget?) was only 40 grains...think .44-40.

Remember that the rimfire Henry cartridge and thus the first Winchester 66 ones then also were actually .44-25s...the quote from ofitq above that 25 grains is nothing to sneeze at is a good one. Granted there was no gas loss with the cartridges but it would be close.

Heck, I shoot 25 grains in my steel frame Traditions 1860 and it works goo enough.

I'm not sure when i shoot conicals I could get much more in there!

Heck the standard load for a Walker (or was it a Dragoon I forget?) was only 40 grains...think .44-40.

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also may i interject that the winnies & possibly henry was commomly cast from an alloy, which from the times 1850-1880 was called gun metal , really a strong bronze which gave the appearence when buffed as being pure brass.